Failure after closed traction of an unerupted maxillary permanent canine: Diagnosis and treatment planning

This report describes the treatment of a 13-year-old girl with unerupted maxillary permanent canines. It illustrates how recognizing an unexpected problem influenced the decision-making process. Despite 6 months of closed-eruption traction, the left canine had not erupted. However, the neighboring teeth were intruded, suggesting a diagnosis of canine ankylosis. When the site was surgically reopened, the wire chain used for the orthodontic traction appeared to be osseointegrated. It was renewed, and traction was applied for another 16 months, and the tooth was successfully brought into the arch. Bone tissue passing through the chain might have prevented forced eruption. In young patients with unerupted maxillary permanent canines, failure of closed traction can be attributed to ankylosis, and this accounts for tooth extraction as the treatment of choice. However, this clinical report suggests that additional measures might be warranted before the definitive diagnosis of ankylosis can be made and the tooth extracted.